Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541365
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 22, 2025 13 70 Years Ago: Nov. 19, 1955 With No. 4 and 7-1 Notre Dame trailing Iowa 14-7 in the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Paul Hornung rallied the Irish to a 17-14 victory. The comeback led to the Fighting Irish student body tearing down the goal posts for the first time in Notre Dame Stadium's 26-year history. The rally began when Hornung returned Iowa's kickoff 38 yards and then completed three passes for 47 yards, capped off by a 16-yarder to Jim Morse for the touchdown. Hornung added the extra point to knot the score. On the next Irish series, Hornung and Morse moved the chains with a clutch third-and-11 completion before Hornung kicked the game- winning field goal from 28 yards out with 2:15 remaining. Hornung was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates after the victory. 55 Years Ago: Nov. 21, 1970 Maybe the greatest defensive slugfest in Notre Dame Stadium history ended with No. 2 Notre Dame defeating No. 7 LSU 3-0, thus earning the 9-0 Fighting Irish a bid to play No. 1 Texas, the defending national champion, in the Cotton Bowl. The score was particularly amazing given that the two quarterbacks were future NFL MVPs — Joe Theismann for Notre Dame and Bert Jones for LSU. Defensive end Walt Patulski led the defensive charge for the Irish by recording 8 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for 42 yards in losses while limiting LSU to 165 yards of total offense. Still, after intercepting a Theismann pass deep in Irish territory, LSU set up for a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, but it was blocked by end Bob Neidrt. A coffin corner punt by Notre Dame's Jim Yoder pinned LSU at its 1-yard line, and that set up the Irish at the Tigers' 36 on the ensuing possession, which saw Scott Hempel kick the game-winning field goal from 24 yards out with 2:54 remaining. 45 Years Ago: Nov. 22, 1980 In his final home game, head coach Dan Devine's Notre Dame defense set a school record by not allowing a touchdown through 23 straight quarters while defeating Air Force 24-10. After the victory, the 9-0-1 and No. 2-ranked Irish of- ficially accepted a bid to play No. 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Phil Carter rushed for 181 yards on 29 carries for Notre Dame. On defense, All-Americans Scott Zettek at end and Bob Crable at linebacker led a unit that finally in the fourth quarter yielded its first touchdown in six games. 30 Years Ago: Nov. 18, 1995 With an $8 million Bowl Alliance bid on the line, Notre Dame rolled to a 44-14 victory at Air Force to finish the regular season 9-2 and earn a chance to play Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Junior quarterback Tom Krug started in place of the injured Ron Powlus, but he attempted only 13 passes while the Irish romped for 410 rushing yards. Tailbacks Randy Kinder and Au- try Denson amassed 121 and 109 yards on the ground, respectively, while fullback Marc Ed- wards added 84. 10 Years Ago: Nov. 21, 2015 No. 5 Notre Dame overcame 5 turnovers to defeat Boston College 19-16 at Fenway Park in Boston. Three of those turnovers occurred inside the Eagles' 5-yard line. "It's like leaving runners in scoring position," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said in an interview room ringed by Red Sox pennants. "There's only so many times you can do that. You can't go down there and not come away with points." Quarterback DeShone Kizer connected on 20 of 38 throws for 320 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Wide receivers Chris Brown (6 catches for 104 yards with a touchdown) and Amir Carlisle (8 grabs for 101 yards) were his favorite targets. The Eagles scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the game to cut the deficit to three points before Irish safety Matthias Farley fell on the onside kick attempt in the final minute of the game to seal the victory. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Nov. 16-22 Irish wide receiver Chris Brown hauled in 6 catches for 104 yards with a touchdown to help Notre Dame edge Boston College 19-16 at Fenway Park in Boston on Nov. 21, 2015. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA Notre Dame's 2026 football schedule still lives largely in the hypothetical — with 10 apparent regular-season opponents, lots of TBAs and a few concrete dates leading to some confusing math when it comes to home games. Could there be a trajectory that might lead to just five of them next season? Math problem solved. A source confirmed to Blue & Gold Illustrated Nov. 7 that the 2026 road game at Florida State won't happen. That game was part of Notre Dame's annual commitment to play an average of five ACC teams, a template that has been altered from time to time to four or six ACC opponents in a given season to accommodate other Irish scheduling commitments. Florida State being off the books is not a new development, according to the source, and had been in the works for some time. FSU, though, only recently removed the game from its athletic website. A Florida State source confirmed the date had been scratched years ago, and that the next sched- uled meeting is in the 2029 season in Tallahassee, Fla. The four remaining ACC games are road matchups at North Carolina and Syracuse, and home games against SMU and Miami. The Miami game was originally scheduled for 2024, but was moved to accommodate a scheduling logjam for the Hurricanes. Six of the remaining nine games have firm dates and venues, according to unofficial scheduling websites, beginning with the Sept. 6 season opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. That is a Shamrock Series game, technically an Irish home game from a TV rights standpoint but played offsite. Notre Dame took a break from the Shamrock Series concept this season and is playing seven games at Notre Dame Stadium. Typically, it's a 6-5-1 configuration, and the movement of the Florida State game from the 2026 schedule eases that eventuality, especially if Notre Dame is successful in extending its longtime series with Southern Cal. That game would take place in Los Angeles or at a neutral site as a Southern Cal home game if the details can be worked out, with the Trojans back in South Bend in 2027. Notre Dame athletics director Pete Bevacqua has also expressed a desire to continue to play Stanford under certain conditions. And if those details can be worked out for 2026, the rotation for that game could be at Notre Dame Stadium next season. The Irish are scheduled to play September home games on the 12th and 19th against Rice and Michigan State, respectively. Notre Dame has a Sept. 26 matchup slated for Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., and a game against Navy Oct. 31 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Notre Dame and Florida State have met 12 times with the series tied at 6-6. The Irish thumped the Seminoles, 52-3, last November. The last game played between the two in Tallahassee, Fla., was a 41-38 overtime win for the Irish in the 2021 season opener. With the ACC and SEC now committed to nine-game conference schedules in fu- ture seasons, up from eight a year, there may be more adjustments to future Irish schedules to come, but this change had nothing to do with that development. — Eric Hansen NOTRE DAME'S 2026 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE SHEDS FLORIDA STATE